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Siege of Ravenna (476)
The Siege of Ravenna was a pivotal siege that occurred in 476 AD, the last year of Classical antiquity. The Heruli leader and foederati commander Odoacer, who had loyally served the Western Roman Empire for years, was angered that the new Roman magister militum Flavius Orestes had refused to reward the Heruli with a fief for their services. The exiled former emperor Julius Nepos, who had been deposed by Orestes, branded Orestes, his brother Lucius Paulus, and their son, the Roman usurper Romulus Augustulus, as traitors. ne of the last cities of the Western Roman Empire. Odoacer launched a rebellion against the Western Empire, laying siege to the Roman capital of Ravenna. The Heruli and the foederati laid siege to the city for two months, and Paulus held out until it taken by storm. Odoacer spared Romulus Augustus due to his youth and beauty, giving him a pension of 6,000 solidi and sending him to Campania to live with his relatives. With Romulus Augustulus deposed, Julius Nepos was only in control of Dalmatia, and Odoacer would go on to annex Dalmatia in 480 AD. While Western Rome would survive four years after the fall of Ravenna, Odoacer's conquest of the Roman homeland of Italia is the traditional date for the fall of Rome. Prehistory By the year 476, the Western Roman Empire was splitting. Endless coups, uprisings, wars, once weakened the great empire and reduced ownership to Italy. In 475, the army master Flavius Orestes and his foederati laid siege to the capital Ravenna. And after the fighting took her. He expelled Emperor Julius Nepot and put his son Romulus Augustulus on the throne on the throne, and his relatives and generals at the posts. In August, one tribe of heruli federations under the command of Odoacer asked them to settle in southern Italy. But Flavius refused them. Then the squad Odoacer revolted and was joined by most of the tribes. In August, Odoacer defeated the Romans in several clashes besieged Ravenna. Siege For nearly a month, Odoacer besieged the capital of the Romans. Flavius Orestes fled from the capital, leaving the emperor and the garrison to the brother of Lucius Paul. In August, when military leaders besieged the capital, Odoacer himself chased Orestes. First, Odoacer broke a comit under Pavia, then under Piacenza, where he executed Orestes. Odoacer then continued to personally besiege the capital. By the time the towers were built, famine began in the city. Odoacer attacked on September 2, 476. Onagry broke the walls of Ravenna by killing several hundred defenders. Then, when the towers reached the western walls, Odoacer and the ram rushed to the gate. Later, after scoring the gates, Odoacer, smashing the main forces of the Romans and joining with other troops, went to capture the palace and the square through the forest. There, a day later, Lucius Pavel met him in ambush, and the Roman ambush with the general was defeated in a tough battle. Odoacer after battles with orderly defenders reached the palace. On September 4, Romulus Augustus abdicated the throne in the presence of Odoacer and other leaders.Category:Sieges Category:Barbarian Invasions Category:The fall of the Roman Empire